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Planting harneck garlic in spring (zone 2b)

9 years ago

Life got in the way of getting my garlic in this past fall. Nothing I could have done about it, unfortunately. I'm fully aware that this is not how hardnecks are supposed to be done. I'm
looking to salvage what I can of my supply so I don't have to start from
square one again.

The cloves cured very well and haven't sprouted yet. They have been indoors, however, and *not* exposed to cold.

If I plant these hardneck cloves as soon as the soil can be worked, do I need to adjust the depth (or any other factor) because I'm planting these in the spring, or can I just plant in the same manner I would have in fall (only in spring)? Will these sprout even though they haven't had cold exposure? Are there other steps I can take at this late date which would still help?

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So you have an idea of our climate and garden...
Spring temperatures (aka. anything above zero, lol) seem to
have arrived early in Saskatchewan (knock on wood), but it'll still be
some time before the snow is gone and we can get into our heavy soil
(predominantly silt with a heavy clay subsoil). Traditional planting out
weekend is Victoria Day weekend here (last Monday before May 25). We can
usually put peas in at the end of April or beginning of May if I prepped
the soil in fall (which we didn't last fall). Have to wait an extra week or two if we didn't do fall prep otherwise we'll wreck the soil structure (turn it into rock-like clumps, as clay tends to do).

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Comments (2)

OldDutch (Zone 4 MN)
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
silt over clay subsoil. Lucky you. I grew up on that in NW Iowa, that is what is called Iowa Black Dirt and makes for the most fertile growing soil of anything in the world, provided you handle it carefully. Speed up your warmup with black plastic or landscape fabric. That will also help with enough dry down to allow you to do some work a bit earlier.

When it is fit for peas or radishes, it should also be fit for garlic. In the meantime refrigerate your seed garlic whole in the bulb, and it will get a better jump start when you crack it for planting the cloves. The garlic will sprout anyway but the cold treatment speeds things up.
macky77
Original Author
9 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Excellent. Thanks OldDutch! I had made the assumption that it was too late for chilling to do any good (so why bother); glad to hear that even a little may help. :) Regarding the soil... yeah, we live in the midst of an area of farmland (literally, we're rural) known locally as the sure crop district. Even in bad years, most farmers here will get a descent crop (barring total destruction via hail, etc.). That said, you really have to handle it like clay or you're screwed, we've found. It's strange stuff. Extremely alkaline. Eats compost for breakfast, like you never put it on (unless you do so in HUGE quantities at first). It's taking a long time to improve the tilth, but it's coming along... slowly but surly. :) Thanks again!
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